Combination washer and sterilizer



72 Sheets-Sheet v P. F. IKwam-5r l COIBINATIO WASHER'AND STERILIZER FindJan. '7,4 1927 l vJune 1v1, 19.29.

mvENToR Pauz E111-ragt BY ATTORNEY 111m? 11,;1929!` P. F. KRAEFTCOMBINATION WASHER AND STERIJIZER Filed Jan. 7,*1927 2 :Sheets-Sheet TERf wnNEssES ATTORNEY Patented Juney 11, 1929.

UNITED STATES PAUL F. KRAEFT, F WOODCLIFF, NEW JERSEY.

COMBINATION WASHER AND STERILIZER.

lApplicatien led January 7, 1927. Serial No, 159,667.

i This invention relates to an improved combination washer andsterilizer.

An object of the invention is to provide in a single'apparatus improvedmeans for successively washing, rinsing and sterilizing the dishes orother articles placed therein.

It is advisable that dishes be sterilized before using, particularly inrestaurants and public eating places, and in some States laws have beenpassed which require a sterilizing of the dishes before they are againused.

This necessitates the carrying out of separate operations, namely, firstwashing the dishes, then removing the dishes from the washer and placingthem in a sterilizer, and this is not only a time-consuming operationbut it is a troublesome one and requires an additional handling of thedishes, which I completely dispense with by the employment of myimproved apparatus.

A further object of the invention, therefore, -is to provide anapparatus which'performs these separate and distinct functions, and Iemploy a single lever or other 'anal- A ogous member, manually operated,to initiate and carry out the operation of washing, then rinsing, thensterilizing, and during all of these operations the said lever, or othermanually moved element, functions to hold the cover of the machine inclosed position so that the cover cannot'be raised or accidentally movedwhile any of these operations are being performed, but is capableofopening when the lever or other manually movable element is moved to apositionto stop or prevent the carrying out of any of the operationsabove described.

A further obj ect is to provide a machine of this character which hasmany advanta eous features of construction and which per orms itsfunctions efliciently, which occupies but relatively small space, andwhich gives improved results in an economical manner.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in certainnovel features of construction and combinations and arrangements ofparts, which will bemore fully hereinafter described and pointed out inthe claim.

In the accompanying drawings- Figure 1 is a view in front elevation ofmy improved machine;

. igure 2 is a top plan view, partly broken away;

Figure 3 is a sectional detail view showlng the inlet valve and itsadjacent parts;

Figure 4 is a view in vertical longitudinal section ofy the, machine;Figure 5 is a sectional plan view which shows the lever controlling theinlet valve and other parts adjacent thereto and with which the leverco-operates;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in section on the line 6-6 of Figure 5.

1 represents a tanlf. or receptacle which may be supported upon feet 2and which is provided in the lower portion thereof with a casing 3 inwhich an electric motor 4t is located. 5 represents a drain outlet whichmay be connected directly to a sewer or to any other point of discharge,and 6 is an overflow tube removably fitting into the drain outlet 5normallypositioned vertically so as to regulate or control the level ofwater in the casing 1, and this removable overflow pipe 6 is providedwith a cap 7 which prevents any water from falling directly into theoverflow l pipe 6.

8 represents a cover located at .the top of the machine and connected tothe mainportion of the machine by spring hinges 8 which tend to raise oropen the 'cover and support the same in open position. On the under faceof this cover 8 I secure a perforated distributor box 9, theperforations being in the bottom of the box so as to allow the waterwhich is directed into the box to be sprayed downwardly therefrom.

10 represents a pump which is located in the water compartment at thebottom of the casing 1 and is operated by a shaft 11 driven by the motor4. Theoutlet of this pump 10 has a vertical pipe l2 connected therewithextending upwardly and provided with an elbow 13 at its upper end whichis connected by a flexible pipe 14 with the inlet 15 of the distributorbox 9.

16 represents a dish or other article supporting tray, which isillustrated as of general rectangular form and provided with handles orbails 17 at opposite sides to facilitate the manual movement thereof.This tray is adapted to be supported in hangers 18, preferably four innumber, which have bifurcated brackets 19 thereon adapted to straddleheaded bolts or pins 20 fixed to the walls of the casing 1 so that thesehangers may be removed or replaced as may be desired.

The bottoms of the hangers are closed so that when the tray 16 isinserted therein the hangers will support the same, and the inner 40 ina plane above the articles supported in the faces of these hangers arepreferably inclined toward each other from their upper to their lowerends so as to facilitate the entrance vof the tray into the hangers andguide the tray into operative position at the lower ends of the hangers,as clearly illustrated in Figure 4.

' that they may be removed as occasion may pair o .,require, although Ihave not attempted to illustrate in detail the exact construction andmounting of these screens, which may of course be varied to suit thetrade.

The cover 8 above referred to'is made with a handle 23 which may beutilized to draw the cover to closed position, it being understood, ofcourse,that the spring hinges 8 are suiiicientlystrong to open orpartially open the cover, and said cover at its forward free end has adepending arm 24 thereon supporting a roller 25 for a purpose which willhereinafter appear.

Referring more particularl to Figures 3, 5 and 6 of the drawings, it wil be noted that I employ a single two-way valve 26 located outside ofthe casing and coupled to a pair of laterally projecting pipes 27 in thecasing, these ipes 27 coupled to and supporting a gdischarge pipes 28,said pipes 28 having slitted or other forms of dischar e nozzles 29positioned at an angle and ocated casing 1 so as to direct the water orsteam downwardly upon the articles to be washed l or sterilize The valve26 (the reference numeral being utilized to indicate both. the valve perse and the casing thereof) communicates with a water supply pipe 30 anda steam supply pipe 31 and is adapted to be moved into opencommunication between either of said pipes and the pipes 27 and 28.

32 represents a manually operated lever l w-hich is directly connectedto the valve 26 and which may have a ring 33 at one end thereof, asclearly shown in Figure 5. The valve and adjacent parts are preferablypartially housed within a U-bracket 34 on the casing 1, and thisU-bracket supports an electric circuit closer 35 with a pivoted cam 36above the same, which is in the path of movement of the lever 32 and isadapted to be moved by said lever to close the electric circuit.

I have not attempted to illustrate any particular circuit but havemerely illustrated a circuit closer'35 with a pipe-37 adapted to enclosewires or other conductors which elec- A and when in this position thecircuit is open and this member 38 is depressed with the cam 36 to closethe same, and when pressure on the cam is released the member 38 willrise and open the same. y

The improved feature is that the circuit is closed by the lever 32 whenthis lever is swung to the position shown in Figure 5, and when thelever is moved to another positionthe circuit will be open, and I do notlimit myself to the specific details of construction foi` carrying outthis operation.

The lever 32 has a curved or concentric disk 39 which constitutes anintegral end of the lever, and this circular disk is fixedconcentrically to the valve 26. A portion of this disk is recessed orcut away, as shown at 40,

for a purpose which will hereinafter appear.

The operation is as follows:

In the drawings I illustrate a machine carrying out the washingoperation and the parts are illustrated for this operation. It will benoted that the lever 32, shown in Figure 5, is swung to the extremerightso' that it operates to close the circuit to the motor, the motordriving the pump 10 forces the water upwardly into the distributor box9, and from which it falls in a spray over the dishes, and thisoperation is a continuous one as long as desired. When the lever 32 isin this position the valve 26 is turned to a. position shutting off orclosing 'both the water and steam inlet pipes 30 and 31, respectively,and hence previous to this operation, it is necessary lirst to move thelever to the position to open communication between the water pipelshown in Figure 6. The overflow pi e 6 regulates the level of water inthe mac ine and whenever it is desired to-drain the machine this overowpipe is lifted out of the drain outlet 5 and the water can iow to anypoint of discharge desired.

After the washing operation is completed, the operator swings the lever32 to a position to allow the water in the pipe 30 to flow through thepipes 27 and 28 and nozzles 29 to rinse the dishes or other articles.This position of the valve is shown in Figure 3. When the lever 32 ismoved to this rinsin position it is moved away from cam 36 and theelectric circuit is opened so as to stop the motor 4.

When the rinsing operation is completed, the lever is swungto a positionto close the Water inlet pipe and open communication between the fteaminlet pipe 31 and the pipes E27, 28. This hot steam will flowthrough thepipes 27 and 28 and nozzles 29 and subject the dishes or other articlest'o a completesterilizatiou at any desired temperature and as long asmay be deemed necessary or in compliance with the law in differentcommunities.

When the sterilizing operation is completed, the lever S2 is swungcompletely to the lett in Figure 5, assuming the dotted line positionshown therein, and When in this psition the recess 40 in disk 39 oflever 32 will register with the roller and the cover will swing to openposition.

It is of course to be understood that when the lever is in this positionto allow the Cover to open, the valve is in position to shut otf bothwater and steam 'from the machine. The dishes or othernarticles or thetray containing them can be removed andthe operation is repeated asabove described.-

I would call particular attention to the fact that I not-only employ ina single machine means to permit dishes or other articles to be washed,rinsed or sterilized without moving them, but I also provide a singlelever or other manually operated controlling member which functions tocontrol all these operations and in addition acts as a lock for thecover so that the cover can be opened only when none of these operationsare being car# ried out.

While I have illustrated what I believe to be a preferred embodiment otmy invention, it is obvious that various changes and alterations mightbe made in the general form of the parts described -vvithout departingfrom my invention and hence I do notlimit myself to the precise detailsset forth but consider myself at liberty to make such changes andalterations as fairly fall Within the spirit and scope of the appendedclaim.

I claim: A

A Washing and sterilizing machine, comprising a casing, Water and steampipes 'communicating with the casing', a single valve controlling thepassage of steam and water to the casing, a lever connected to saidvalve, a cover on the casing, a device on the cover, a disk connected tothe lever having a recess -therein, said device on the cover engagingunder the disk to hold the cover closed when the lever is positioned tohold the valve open, and said disk being moved by the lever to registerthe recess therein With the device and permit the cover to be openedonly when the valve is in closed position.

f PAUL F. KRAEFT.

